A Moment in History: The Inauguration of Barack Obama

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All Rise...

Judge Kent Dixon says: "Hail to the Chief, indeed!"

The Charge

"A man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at
a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred
oath."—Barack Obama

The Case

In one of the most astounding political campaigns in U.S. history, Barack
Obama's road to the White House began on a cold day in February 2007 in
Springfield, Illinois. Less than two years later, he was sworn in as the 44th
president of the United States. Americans are cautious but hopeful that not only
will President Obama be able to deliver on some of his promises, but that the
nation will begin to see the early signs of economic recovery. As he said in his
inauguration speech, the President acknowledges the road ahead may be long and
the climb may be steep, but with the support of the American people, his
administration will bring about change, strengthen the economy, bring troops
back home and restore the nation…a weighty load to bear indeed.

Although no official crowd count is available, or would have likely even
been possible, President Obama's inauguration event on January 20, 2009, is
estimated to have drawn a crowd of as many as 1.8 million people to the nation's
capital…an attendance record previous held by the 1965 inauguration of
Lyndon B. Johnson that drew approximately 1.2 million. A full day of formal
events and engagements, Inauguration Day 2009 was captured by numerous networks
from around the world, and watched by an estimated 37.8 million viewers, not
including those watching the various broadcasts through streaming online feeds.
Fitting for an event focused on a president so familiar with electronic media
and social networks, the inauguration resulted in a significant surge in
Internet traffic and was watched or heard by countless millions in countries
around the world.

The exhaustive ABC News coverage of the full Inauguration Day ceremony is
included on A Moment in History, broken down into chapters as follows:
"A New Day Begins," "Rev. Rick Warren Gives the Invocation,"
"Aretha Franklin's Inaugural Song," "Joe Biden sworn in as Vice
President," "Performance of 'Air & Simple Gifts',"
"Barack Obama sworn in as President," "Obama's Full Inauguration
Speech," "Elizabeth Alexander Reads Inaugural Poem," "The
Rev. Lowery Delivers the Benediction," "Bush's Helicopter
Departure," "Walking the Parade Route," "The Parade,"
"Obama Speaks at the 'Neighborhood Ball'," "The First Dance With
President Obama," and "Exclusive First Interview With Obama."

Not only does this release include full coverage of the formal inauguration
ceremony, it also includes a fairly substantial offering of special features and
additional material. Barbara Walters' exclusive interview with the Obamas
captures both the president-elect's reflections on the tasks ahead and the
importance of family and faith. Once his wife joins him for the second half of
the interview, the strength of this team becomes immediately apparent and one
can see how they balance each other perfectly for the tasks ahead.

"President-elect Obama's Victory Night Speech" captures yet
another beautifully crafted speech, delivered by a man of sincerity to a warm
and appreciative crowd. The "Oaths of Office" featurette delivers
video from the inauguration ceremonies of the past nine presidents as they all
took the oath for their own first, and in some cases second, terms of office.
The "Exclusive Interview With Beyoncé" is nothing more than a
minute or so of the pop star gushing about her opportunity to serenade the First
Couple for their first dance at the Inaugural Ball. "Bob Woodruff With
Michelle Obama" joins ABC journalist Bob Woodruff as he has a brief chat
with Michelle Obama about her impressions of her new role as First Lady and her
commitment to support and aid military families, as well as her own.

Captured from what seems to be a variety of sources, A Moment in
History is a bit of a mixed bag on both the audio and video fronts. The
audio mix remains grounded in the center and front channels, with nothing
particularly remarkable about the overall mix, other than its relative clarity
and lack of distortion. The visual presentation is where this release really
seems to suffer, as the image ranges from sharp and colorful in the majority of
the main program, to somewhat muted and soft in many of the supplementary
features. Given the historic nature of the event and the guaranteed existence of
HD footage, a Blu-ray release would have been both appropriate and welcome.

Unless you had your TiVo or PVR programmed to capture the day's events, you
probably don't have your own personal record of the inauguration ceremony. If
you're a history buff, or an Obamaphile like me, A Moment in History is
an amazing record of what will hopefully become a turning point in American
history.

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